Whale Shark

The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is the largest fish on Earth, a slow-moving filter feeder capable of reaching lengths of around 12 meters, though some individuals may grow considerably larger. It inhabits warm, tropical, and subtropical oceans worldwide, typically in surface waters, and feeds primarily on zooplankton, fish eggs, krill, and small squid by drawing water through its gill rakers. As a large predator that occupies the upper levels of marine food webs while consuming organisms at the base, it connects different trophic layers and its movements track the seasonal pulses of productivity across ocean basins.

The whale shark is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, with the global population estimated to have declined by more than 50 percent over the past 75 years according to that assessment. The principal threats are boat strikes, targeted fishing in parts of South and Southeast Asia, bycatch in large-scale fisheries, and the ingestion of marine plastic debris. Aggregation sites, where whale sharks gather predictably to feed, concentrate risk, making those locations both critical for research and particularly vulnerable to disturbance from unregulated tourism and vessel traffic.